Opinion

Wednesday, 13 January 2016

Prime
Minister Narendra Modi’s Air India One made an emergency return from
Mumbai’s Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport today after news
broke out in the flight that a restriction
has been imposed on taking selfies in various parts of Mumbai. He was
scheduled to visit some of the drought-affected areas in Maharashtra
region.

Later, his party released a statement saying, “Although
Shri Narendra Modi couldn’t meet the victims personally due to
extraordinary circumstances, his 3D hologram is taking stock of the
situation there.”

Speculations were rife as to what prompted him
to cancel his visit. Some suggested he perhaps realized at the last
minute that his travel agent lied and Mumbai was not in Europe, whereas
others professed he couldn’t create enough jumlas for the speech he was supposed to deliver there.

In a candid discussion with The Unreal Times,
Shri Narendra Modi put all the speculations to rest and admitted that
the reason why he cancelled his visit was indeed that selfie ban, “If 16
sites are declared ‘no selfie zones’ then what is left? Dadar railway
station?”

“But you did not have to take selfies in Mumbai,
especially when you have already taken selfies at multiple locations
while circumnavigating the world, and you might click one or two in the
space soon,” we tried to put things into perspective, “Moreover, there
must be more to an official visit than clicking selfies.”

“Yes,
like having dinner with foreign delegates, I know what you are trying to
say but selfie is a very important tool for continuous improvement. You
can look at an old selfie and understand where you erred in the past.
Maybe you did not smile properly or you forgot to stand in the light
when you took the selfie, but these mistakes guide you when you click
the next one, because selfies are your best teachers,” Mr. Photogenic
2015 affirmed.

“So when did it all start?” we dig deep to identify the root cause of this mysterious syndrome.

“I
have always had a penchant for photography. Initially, I used to take
photographs of cauliflowers, stray dogs, and grasshoppers, you know,
like professional photographers. But once the selfie feature was
introduced, I found the subject of my creative pursuit…my face. I
achieved nirvana.”

“But what would you do if you are invited to attend an event in Mumbai in future?”

“Don’t know. Maybe I will just take an aerial view of the event,” he concluded.

Also published herehttp://www.theunrealtimes.com/2016/01/13/16-sites-in-mumbai-declared-no-selfie-zones-narendra-modi-cancels-his-mumbai-visit/